Seasonal and Spatial Dynamics of Freshwater Snails and Schistosomiasis in Mizan Aman, Southwest Ethiopia
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript "Seasonal and spatial dynamics of freshwater snails and schistosomiasis in Mizan Aman, Southwest Ethiopia: Implications 3
for targeted control strategies" providing important information on the risk factors associated with freshwater snails and their impact on the occurrence of schistosomiasis in Ethiopia. Dear authors, the article is written well but there is a need of further improvement before publication. You can find the comments below:
Title: You can modify the "South West" as "Southwest". It's just a suggestion. Also, please remove the "Implications for targeted control strategies" from the title end.
Line 17: Please write the total snail samples collected.
Lines 21 & 22: Please mention the prevalence rate of relevant snail species in your study.
Line 22 and 23: Please move this text under the Methods section.
The conclusion section in the abstract is not well clear. Please write your specific findings and relevant implications based on your study.
The Material and Methods section formatting is not correct. All the text is in italic format. Please correct it.
Line 88-89: Can you please quote a reference for this methodology?
Line 107: Can you clarify, what is mWater mobile?
Line 126-138: This literature should be part of the Materials and Methods section. Please adjust it at the suitable place. You can merge it with "Study area and site selection".
Please describe the total samples collected under "Snail collection and identification" section. Also, there is no information of the regions/sites collected, and distribution of the snails collected from east site/region.
Reference 13 and 24 are lacking the Publisher information.
Author Response
We would like to thank the reviewers for taking the time to review our work, all comments were answered as detailed below:
Comment 1: Line 17, Please write the total snail samples collected.
Response 1: Thanks, the change was made in line 20: “1,150 snail samples were collected from 20 freshwater sites” …
Comment 2: Lines 21 & 22: Please mention the prevalence rate of relevant snail species in your study.
Response 2: Thanks, added the following statement (line 29): “The overall prevalence of Biomphalaria snails exceeded 85% in both seasons…”
Comment 3: Line 22 and 23: Please move this text under the Methods section.
Response 3: Thanks, I am not sure I followed what should be moved to the methods section, any clarification will be much appreciated.
Comment 4: The conclusion section in the abstract is not well clear. Please write your specific findings and relevant implications based on your study.
Response 4: agreed, the conclusion has been revised, thanks!
Comment 5: The Material and Methods section formatting is not correct. All the text is in italic format. Please correct it.
Response 5: Thanks, this has been corrected.
Comment 6: Line 88-89: Can you please quote a reference for this methodology?
Response 6: Thanks, a citation is added reference 12 in line 96.
Comment 7: Line 107, Can you clarify, what is mWater mobile?
Response 7: An explanation was added as such: “mWATER Mobile is a digital tool used for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) data collection, monitoring, and mapping. Please let us know if further clarifications are needed”
Comment 8: Line 126-138, This literature should be part of the Materials and Methods section. Please adjust it at the suitable place. You can merge it with "Study area and site selection.
Response 8: Thanks, we have moved this paragraph to the correct place.
Comment 9: Please describe the total samples collected under "Snail collection and identification" section. Also, there is no information of the regions/sites collected, and distribution of the snails collected from east site/region.
Response 9 Thanks, the following paragraph was added to the main text under “Spatial variation in snail abundance and species composition”
“In Agu, a total of 514 snails were collected, with 388 from Agu 1 and 126 from Agu 2. Sasin, a river, contributed 356 snails. Shonga, a stream, accounted for 335 snails, with 165 from Shonga 1, 4 from Shonga 2, and none from Shonga 3. Kusha, a river, had 79 snails. Keker, a specific location within a water body, contributed 8 snails, with no snails collected from Keker 2. Esine, a stream, yielded 118 snails, with 116 from Esine 1, 2 from Esine 2, and none from Esine 3. Kosokol, a water body, contributed 329 snails, with 126 from Kosokol 1, 1 from Kosokol 2, 101 from Kosokol 3, and none from Kosokol 4. Chorobay, a stream, accounted for 69 snails, while both Borini and Kabash, specific locations within a water body, had no snails collected. Finally, Wugni, a stream, contributed 75 snails”
Cooment 10: Reference 13 and 24 are lacking the Publisher information.
Response 9: Thanks, Citations are now corrected.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript presents a comprehensive study of the distribution of freshwater snails in Mizan Aman, Ethiopia, their role in the transmission of schistosomiasis, and the impact of environmental factors on their population. The text is written logically and perspicaciously, combining ecological analysis with practical public health solutions.
I have no critical remarks, only a few minor suggestions.
Line 21 (Abstract): ‘and’ should be written without italics
Line 22 (Abstract): ‘and’ should be written without italics
Line 40 (Keywords): ‘freshwater’ should be written in lowercase
Line 45 (Introduction): I propose adding a short sentence about how schistosomiasis affects public health in these regions.
Line 72-124 (Materials and methods): Why is this section written entirely in italics?
Line 146: remove the period after Biomphalaria
Line 159: p = 0.021
Line 165: Use the same font type
Line 205-215 and 336-340: Why is this section written entirely in italics?
Author Response
We would like to thank the reviewers for taking the time to review our work
Comment 1: Line 21 (Abstract): ‘and’ should be written without italics
Response 1: Thank you, this is now corrected.
Comment 2: Line 22 (Abstract) ‘and’ should be written without italics
Response 2: Thank you, this is now corrected.
Comment 3: Line 40 (Keywords): ‘freshwater’ should be written in lowercase
Response 3: Thank you, this is now corrected.
Comment 4: Line 45 (Introduction): I propose adding a short sentence about how schistosomiasis affects public health in these regions.
Response 4: Thank you, this sentence was added: “Schistosomiasis poses a significant public health challenge in these regions, leading to chronic illness, reduced productivity, and impaired childhood development, particularly in communities with limited access to healthcare and sanitation”. Line 13-15
Comment 5 Line 72-124 (Materials and methods): Why is this section written entirely in italics?
Response 5: This might have happened in the transition to the journal format and now changed. Thank you.
Comment 6 Line 146: remove the period after Biomphalaria:
Response 6: Done, thanks.
Comment 7 : Line 159: p = 0.021
Response 7: thanks, this was corrected.
Comment 8: Line 165: Use the same font type
Response 8: thanks, corrected.
Comment 9: Line 205-215 and 336-340: Why is this section written entirely in italics?
Response 9: This might have happened in the transition to the journal format and now changed, thank you.
